Three Generations, One Concord Hospital Family

Three Generations, One Concord Hospital Family

For Jean Rainville, some of her earliest memories of Concord Hospital involve pancakes.

As a child attending The Learning Center, Rainville would come to work with her mother, longtime Concord Hospital nurse Mary Ann Cioffi (known throughout the organization simply as "MAC"). On Fridays, mother and daughter would stop in the cafeteria for pancakes before Jean headed to childcare and MAC began her workday.

Decades later, Rainville still comes to work at Concord Hospital. Now, though, she is a project manager for facility projects, and the little girl heading to The Learning Center is her daughter, Addie Mae.

And MAC? After nearly 36 years as a Concord Hospital employee, retirement hasn't taken her very far. She regularly returns as a volunteer at The Family Place, where she helps cuddle and comfort newborns.

Three generations of one family now share a connection to Concord Hospital that spans careers, childhoods, patient care, volunteerism, and some of the organization's most significant projects.

MAC's relationship with Concord Hospital began while she was pursuing her master's degree in nursing at the University of New Hampshire. Already working in health care, she came to Concord Hospital for a graduate school practicum and was struck by what she found.

"I think what really appealed to me was the role of nursing and the nurses were well respected by the organization and valued," she recalled. "I think it's the people, the people piece, but also the value on nursing."

She joined Concord Hospital in a newly created recruitment and retention position during a nursing shortage, working not only to bring nurses into the organization, but also to help them grow and build careers here. Over nearly 36 years, MAC did exactly that herself, moving through several roles in nursing supervision, education, professional practice, and accreditation.

Her connection to Concord Hospital eventually became deeply personal, too.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, MAC found herself receiving care from the same organization where she worked. During a vulnerable time for her family, coworkers showed up with meals and support.

Later, MAC helped champion the employee fundraising campaign that supported the development of what would become the Payson Center for Cancer Care. She and fellow employee Michelle Dunn embraced a Wizard of Oz theme, complete with ruby red slippers and a yellow brick road. Funds from the employee campaign supported the HOPE Resource Center and services for cancer patients and families.

Those memories stayed with Jean, too. Years later, her own work brought her back to the cancer center to manage projects involving its linear accelerator and CT simulator.

"I get to do what she did on a different type of level," Rainville said of following her mother's example. "My entire career has revolved around people and teams, and how we can make stuff happen."

Despite growing up around Concord Hospital, Rainville didn't set out to follow her mother's career path.

She joined the organization after college as a temporary employee supporting a major information technology project. That opportunity grew into a clinical informatics position before eventually opening the door to facility projects, where she has spent roughly half of her 10-year Concord Hospital career.

Her projects have taken her throughout the health system, from cancer care spaces and The Family Place to infrastructure, safety, and major construction. Much of that work happens behind the scenes, requiring facilities staff to coordinate closely with clinical teams so construction can move forward while protecting patients and minimizing disruptions to care.

It's also given Rainville something she values deeply: community.

When she moved to facilities, the only child suddenly found herself with what she jokingly describes as "a group of older brothers that I didn't know that I needed." Those coworkers now know Addie, too. When the facilities team showed up to support a lemonade stand at The Learning Center, Addie's reaction captured that relationship perfectly:

"All my friends came."

For Rainville, that sense of family is a large part of what has made Concord Hospital a place where she wants to stay.